I don't want to be remembered as a sledger: McGrath

Sydney, Apr 22 (UNI) As curtains are about to come down on a legendary fast bowling career, Glenn McGrath -- known to go under any batsman's skin with a deadly cocktail of lethal line and verbal volleys -- says the last thing he wants to be remembered for is sledging.

One of the most enduring memories of the fast bowling great is his ugly on-the-pitch flare-up with Ramnaresh Sarwan during Australia's Caribbean tour of 2003, but McGrath revealed he used to regret later, every time he was involved in such a spat.

''You don't want people saying to your kids, 'Your father is a bastard'. I'm playing cricket because I love it, and if I'm out there getting angry all the time that's not what it's about. The times when I did blow up I used to regret it afterwards. I would do it and go home and be angry with myself,'' McGrath, who retires after the World Cup, was quoted as saying by 'The Age'.

He said it was fatherhood that had humbled him.

''Becoming a father also makes you grow up. The longer it has gone on I've thought, 'The one thing I didn't want to be remembered for is being a guy who went over the top sledging or doing this or that'.'' Not the quickest bowler, even at the start of his career, he instead relies on unerring accuracy, and the ability to make the ball seam a little off the pitch. He can also generate steep bounce -- as Kevin Pietersen found, to his horror, the Pigeon had cracked his ribs -- using a high arm action and the advantage of a 6'5'' frame.

But the pace ace, who has knocked of the stumps of the best in the business over and over again, also admits using the media to target a player and create doubts in his mind.

''It definitely worked in my favour. I think it started with Brian Lara. I knocked him over and all the talk was, McGrath had his bunny. I was always happy to go along with it,'' he said.

That former England skipper Mike Atherton was dismissed by McGrath 19 times in his Test career and Brian Lara, who he regards slightly ahead of Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest, 15 times.

''After a while it had nothing to do with (a batsman's) technique or ability. It was a mental thing. The last time I knocked Athers over I nearly felt sorry for him,'' McGrath said.

Another trick of the trade, and Brett Lee can take a cue from it, which McGrath employed was to keep a distance from the rivals on and off the field and try not get too friendly with them.

''Sometimes you can get too friendly and I don't think it helps when you are out in the middle. As a fast bowler to be successful you've got to have that unknown quality.'' UNI